The great poetic tradition of pre-Christian Scandinavia is known to us almost exclusively though the "Poetic Edda." The poems originated in Iceland, Norway, and Greenland between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, when they were compiled in a unique manuscript known as the "Codex Regius."The poems are primarily lyrical rather than narrative. Terry's readable translation includes the magnificent cosmological poem "Voluspa" ("The Sibyl's Prophecy"), didactic poems concerned with mythology and the everyday conduct of life, and heroic poems, of which an important group is concerned with the story of Sigurd and Brynhild."Poems of the Elder Edda" will appeal to students of Old Norse, Icelandic, and Medieval literature, as well as to general readers of poetry.

The author of at least two noteworthy romances of the early thirteenth century, "Le Roman de la Rose or Guillaume de Dole" and "L'Escoufle" (The Kite), as well as "Le Lai de l'Ombre," Jean Renart is today recognized as the most accomplished practitioner of the "realistic romance" in Old French literature.

Known for her fine translations of octosyllabic narrative verse, Patricia Terry presents translations of four major practitioners of this dominant literary form of twelfth- and thirteenth-century France. Her introduction discusses the varying views of women and love in the texts and their place in the courtly tradition. From Chretien de Troyes Terry includes an early work, Philomena, here translated into verse for the first time. The other great writer of this period was Marie de France, the first woman in the European narrative tradition. Lanval is newly translated for this edition, which also features four of Marie's other poems. The collection further includes The Reflection by Jean Renart, known for his realistic settings; and the anonymous Chatelaine of Vergi, a fatalistic and perhaps more modern depiction of love.

"I have nothing but admiration for [Terry's] adaptation of medieval verse form to a modern equivalent that reads with the grace, wit, and punch of the original."--Harriet Spiegel, translator of "The Fables of Marie de France

"A critically important medieval text in a translation that is both accurate and readable, conveying a good deal of the style and spirit of the Old French."--Frederick Goldin, translator of "Lyrics of Troubadours and Trouveres

"Terry is a superb translator and Renard is one of the most important documents of Old French literature."--Peter F. Dembowski, author of "Jean Froissart and His Meliador

A collection of the poems of one of the French Symbolist poets.

This book presents translations of four major practitioners of octosyllabic verse, the dominant literary form of 12th- and 13th-century France. The introduction discusses the varying views of women and love in the texts and their place in the courtly tradition.;From Chretien de Troyes Terry includes an early work, "Philomena". The other great writer of this period was Marie de France, the first woman in the European narrative tradition. "Lanval" is newly translated for this edition, which also features four of Marie's other poems. The collection includes "The Reflection" by Jean Renart, known for his real settings; and the anonymous "Chatelaine of Vergi", a fatalistic and perhaps more modern depiction of love.